Simultaneous use of multiple phone numbers in mobile device by sharing hardware

ABSTRACT

Determining and simultaneously using a base station coupled to a mobile device, the base station comprising a detector for receiving a first identification signal corresponding to a first module and a second identification signal corresponding to a second module from the mobile device. A transmitter for sending a plurality of signals to the mobile device, said plurality of signals is configured to set up communication between the mobile device and the base station. A receiver for receiving a plurality of parameters for determining whether the second module is able to attach to the base station; and a processor for connecting the first and second module in the mobile device to the base station simultaneously in response to a plurality of slots by time multiplexing and the plurality of parameters when the second module is acceptable by the base station, wherein said plurality of slots are determined by the base station.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/117,960 filed Nov. 26, 2008 and U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/149,703 filed Feb. 4, 2009, suchprovisional applications being hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of cellular networks, andmore particularly to a system and method for simultaneous use ofmultiple cards in a mobile device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In recent years, the use of mobile devices and, in particular, cellulartelephones has proliferated. In fact, some users maintain multiplecellular accounts and/or cellular phone numbers. For example, somecellular users may have a first account or number for personal phonecalls and a second account or number for business phone calls.Alternatively, a user may have an account for a first region and aseparate account for another region. In these cases, the user may haveto carry multiple cell phones (e.g., one for each account), switch outcards (e.g., SIM cards) whenever a different account should be used, oruse phones which allow multiple cards to be used in the same phone inorder to use the multiple accounts. However, such phones do not allowthe cards to be used simultaneously. Correspondingly, improvements inmobile communication and devices are desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments are presented of a system and method forsimultaneously using multiple cards in a mobile device. Morespecifically, the mobile device may include at least a first card and asecond card.

One aspect of the invention discloses a method for a base station whichcoupled to a mobile device, the method comprising receiving a firstidentification signal corresponding to a first module and a secondidentification signal corresponding to a second module from the mobiledevice, and sending a plurality of signals to the mobile device, saidplurality of signals are configured to set up communication between themobile device and the base station, receiving a plurality of parametersfor determining whether the second module is able to attach to the basestation; and connecting the first and second module in the mobile deviceto the base station simultaneously in response to a plurality of slotsby time multiplexing and the plurality of parameters when the secondmodule is acceptable by the base station, wherein said plurality ofslots are determined by the base station.

One aspect of the invention discloses a base station coupled to a mobiledevice, the base station comprising a detector for receiving a firstidentification signal corresponding to a first module and a secondidentification signal corresponding to a second module from the mobiledevice; a transmitter for sending a plurality of signals to the mobiledevice, said plurality of signals is configured to set up communicationbetween the mobile device and the base station; a receiver for receivinga plurality of parameters for determining whether the second module isable to attach to the base station; and a processor for connecting thefirst and second module in the mobile device to the base stationsimultaneously in response to a plurality of slots by time multiplexingand the plurality of parameters, when the second module is acceptable bythe base station, wherein said plurality of slots are determined by thebase station.

Another aspect of the invention is a system for operating in CDMA mode,the system comprising a mobile device with a first module and a secondmodule, the mobile device receiving a first identification signalcorresponding to the first module and a second identification signalcorresponding to a second module; a base station coupled to the mobiledevice.

The mobile device further comprising: a detector for receiving the firstidentification signal and the second identification signal from themobile device; a transmitter for sending a plurality of signals to themobile device, said plurality of signals is configured to set upcommunication between the mobile device and the base station; a receiverfor receiving a plurality of parameters for determining whether thesecond module is able to attach to the base station; and a processor forconnecting the first and second module in the mobile device to the basestation simultaneously in response to a plurality of slots by timemultiplexing and the plurality of parameters when the second module isacceptable by the base station, wherein said plurality of slots aredetermined by the base station.

First Application—Mobile Station

The method may determine a first international mobile subscriberidentity (IMSI). The first IMSI may correspond to a first card or phonenumber in a mobile device. For example, the method may determine atelephone number associated with the first card and correspondinglydetermine the first IMSI based on the telephone number.

Similarly, the method may determine a second IMSI for a second card orphone number in the mobile device. For example, the second IMSI may bederived or determined from a telephone number associated with the secondcard (or the second account of the mobile device).

The method may determine if the first card and the second card aresimultaneously usable by a single transmitter/receiver of the mobiledevice. In one embodiment, the determination may be performed by usingthe first IMSI and the second IMSI. For example, one or more parameters(e.g., communication parameters) may be determined for each of the firstand second cards (e.g., based on the first IMSI and the second IMSI).The method may then determine if the parameters for the first card arecompatible (or alternatively, conflict) with the parameters of thesecond card. If the parameters are compatible, then the first card andthe second card may be simultaneously usable. The method may thenaccordingly configure the mobile device to simultaneously use bothcards.

In one embodiment, the determination may be based on minimization ofpower consumption. For example, the determination may be based onwhether the two cards can be used during the same time slot so that themobile device may not use additional power to perform communication withboth cards. More specifically, the mobile device may not have to timemultiplex use of the first and second cards with the appropriate sets ofparameters. Alternatively, the determination may be based onminimization of collisions. For example, instead of attempting to useboth cards during the same time slot, the method may determine if thetwo sets of parameters result in the first card and second card beingused in time slots a threshold amount away from each other, thusensuring no collisions, but consuming more power. Thus, in this example,the method may include determining a first time slot of the first cardbased on the first IMSI, determining a second time slot of the secondcard based on the second IMSI, and determining if the first time slotand the second time slot are within a threshold amount of time.

As one specific example, a paging slot and channel number may bedetermined for each of the cards, e.g., based on the first and secondIMSIs. If the paging slot of the first card and the paging slot of thesecond card are the same or adjacent and if the first channel number ofthe first card and the channel number of the second card are different,the method may determine that the parameters conflict, andcorrespondingly, the first and second cards are not simultaneouslyusable by the mobile device.

An indication or message may be provided, e.g., on a display of themobile device, which indicates whether the first card and the secondcard are simultaneously usable by the mobile device.

If the first card and the second card are simultaneously usable by themobile device, the method may include configuring the mobile device tosimultaneously use both the first card and the second card. For example,operating the mobile device simultaneously may be performed by timemultiplexing use of the first card and use of the second card using thesingle transmitter/receiver of the mobile device.

The method may be applied to one or more additional cards. For example,the one or more additional IMSIs may be determined for one or moreadditional cards. Similar to above, the method may determine if theadditional cards are usable simultaneously by the mobile device (e.g.,using a single or common transmitter/receiver) with the first and secondcards, e.g., by determining corresponding sets of parameters for theadditional cards. If these parameters are compatible, the indication mayfurther indicate that the one or more additional cards aresimultaneously usable by the mobile device.

The method described above may be implemented as a computer program,e.g., as program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., of themobile device, or a different computer system, as desired). The programinstructions may be executable to implement the method described above.Similarly, the method may be performed or implemented by a mobiledevice.

Second Application—Base Station

In one embodiment, a device may receive signals from a mobile device.For example, a base station (e.g., a macro base station or femtocellbase station) may receive the signals from the mobile device. In oneembodiment, the signals may be part of an initial communication or setup phase for establishing communication between the base station and themobile device, although the signals may be received after communicationhas been set up, e.g., for a first card of the mobile device.

In some embodiments, the signals received from the mobile device mayindicate that the mobile device is capable of using, or otherwiserequests to use, two different cards simultaneously, although othermethods of determining are envisioned. Thus, the method may determinethat the mobile device is capable of using a first card and a secondcard simultaneously. Additionally, or alternatively, the signals mayinclude information pertaining to the mobile device, the first card ofthe mobile device, the second card of the mobile device, etc. Forexample, the information may indicate the phone number(s) associatedwith the first card and/or the second card.

A plurality of first communication parameters may be determined for thefirst card. In some embodiments, the first communication parameters maybe determined based on an international mobile subscriber identity(IMSI) of the first card. For example, the IMSI may be determined orderived based on a phone number associated with the first card.

A plurality of communication parameters may be determined for the secondcard based on the first communication parameters. However, thecommunication parameters for the second card may not be based on an IMSIassociated with the second card. Instead, the communication parametersfor the second card may be determined or selected in such a manner toensure that the first and second cards can be used simultaneously, e.g.,while conserving as much power as possible and/or ensuring as fewcollisions between using the first and second card as possible. Thus, inone embodiment, the determination of the parameters of the second cardmay not be based on a phone number associated with the second card(and/or any other information pertaining to the second card, which mayhave been received). Alternatively, an IMSI may be selected for thesecond card (e.g., which is not based on the phone number associatedwith the second card) which will result in communication parameters thatare compatible with the communication parameters of the first card.

In further embodiments, an actual IMSI associated with the second cardmay be used, e.g., in part, to determine the communication parametersfor the second card. However, if some of the communication parametersconflict with the parameters for the first card, they may be modified,e.g., by the base station, and/or a new IMSI may be used for the secondcard (e.g., instead of the one based on the phone number of the secondcard). The determined communication parameters for the first and secondcards may allow the first card and the second card to be usedsimultaneously by a single transmitter/receiver of the mobile device.

For example, the determined parameters of the first card may include afirst paging slot and a first paging channel. Correspondingly, thepaging slot and the paging channel of the communication parameters ofthe second card may be assigned to the first paging slot and the firstpaging channel.

The first communication parameters may be provided to the mobile device.As indicated above, the communication parameters may be usable by themobile device to communicate using the first card and the second cardsimultaneously.

The method described above may be extended to one or more additionalcards (i.e., in addition to the first and second cards described above).Thus, the method may further include determining communicationparameters for one or more additional cards. The parameters may bedetermined in order to ensure that all or at least a portion of thecards may be used simultaneously together, as desired. Correspondingly,these additional communication parameters may be provided to the mobiledevice.

The above described method may be implemented as a program, e.g., asprogram instructions stored on a memory medium. The program instructionsmay be executable to perform the method described above. Furthermore,the method may be implemented by a system, e.g., a base station, such asa macro cell base station, a femtocell, etc. Thus, the base station mayensure that a phone desiring to use more than one card simultaneously isable to do so effectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment is consideredin conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary communication system including an access pointbase station according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for determining if twocards can be used simultaneously in a mobile device, according to oneembodiment;

FIGS. 3-11 are exemplary diagrams corresponding to the method of FIG. 2,according to various embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for determiningcommunication parameters for two cards in a mobile device, according toone embodiment; and

FIG. 13 is an exemplary diagram corresponding to the method of FIG. 12,according to one embodiment.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the drawings and detailed description theretoare not intended to limit the invention to the particular formdisclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Terms

The following is a glossary of terms used in the present application:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of memory devices or storage devices.The term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation medium,e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks 104, or tape device; a computer systemmemory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM,Rambus RAM, etc.; or a non-volatile memory such as a magnetic media,e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage. The memory medium may compriseother types of memory as well, or combinations thereof. In addition, thememory medium may be located in a first computer in which the programsare executed, or may be located in a second different computer whichconnects to the first computer over a network, such as the Internet. Inthe latter instance, the second computer may provide programinstructions to the first computer for execution. The term “memorymedium” may include two or more memory mediums which may reside indifferent locations, e.g., in different computers that are connectedover a network.

Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devicescomprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via aprogrammable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field ProgrammableGate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (FieldProgrammable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmablefunction blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or lookup tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processorcores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as“reconfigurable logic”.

Program—the term “program” is intended to have the full breadth of itsordinary meaning. The term “program” includes 1) a software programwhich may be stored in a memory and is executable by a processor or 2) ahardware configuration program useable for configuring a programmablehardware element.

Software Program—the term “software program” is intended to have thefull breadth of its ordinary meaning, and includes any type of programinstructions, code, script and/or data, or combinations thereof, thatmay be stored in a memory medium and executed by a processor. Exemplarysoftware programs include programs written in text-based programminglanguages, such as C, C++, Pascal, Fortran, Cobol, Java, assemblylanguage, etc.; graphical programs (programs written in graphicalprogramming languages); assembly language programs; programs that havebeen compiled to machine language; scripts; and other types ofexecutable software. A software program may comprise two or moresoftware programs that interoperate in some manner.

Hardware Configuration Program—a program, e.g., a netlist or bit file,that can be used to program or configure a programmable hardwareelement.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or otherdevice or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computersystem” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combinationof devices) having at least one processor that executes instructionsfrom a memory medium.

FIG. 1—Exemplary Communications System

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system including a macrobase station 100 which provides service in macro area 105, a pluralityof access point base stations 170 which provide service in local areas175, and a plurality of mobile devices 150 (also referred to as “mobilestations” or “access terminals”).

The term “access point base station” is intended to include typicaldefinitions (as known by those of skill in the art) of femtocells, homebase stations, personal access points (PAPs), and personal 2G-3G (or nG)base stations, among others. Similarly, the term “macro base station” isintended to include typical definitions (as known by those skilled inthe art) of cell phone towers and base stations which provide service ina macro area. The term “base station” is intended to include both accesspoint base stations and macro base stations among other types of basestations, as desired.

The mobile devices (also referred to as “access terminals”) 150 mayinclude any type of device which may be used in a cellular network,e.g., for RF communication. The mobile devices may include cellular (orcell) phones (including smart phones), personal digital assistants(PDAs) with mobile communication capabilities, laptops or computersystems with mobile communication components, and/or any device that isoperable to communicate with a cellular network. The mobile devices mayuse various different protocols, e.g., CDMA2000 (1×RTT and EV-DO), UMB,UMTS, LTE, WiMAX, or others). Correspondingly, the base stations 100 andmobile devices 150 may support any or at least a subset of the protocolsused by the mobile devices, e.g., without modification to the standardsor protocols for supporting existing mobile devices. The mobile devices150 may be configured to support simultaneous use of multiple cards, asdescribed in more detail below.

FIG. 2—Determining Compatibility of Multiple Cards in a Mobile Device

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary method for determining compatibility ofsimultaneous use of multiple cards in a mobile device. The method shownin FIG. 2 may be used in conjunction with any of the computer systems ordevices shown in the above Figures, among other devices. In variousembodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performedconcurrently, or in a different order than shown, or omitted. Additionalmethod elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, this methodmay operate as follows.

In 202, characteristics of a first card of a mobile device may bedetermined. For example, a phone number of the mobile device may bedetermined, e.g., from the first card of the mobile device. In someembodiments, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) may bedetermined for the first card of the mobile device. In variousembodiments, the IMSI may be derived from the phone number (e.g., in theUnited States) associated with the first card of the mobile device, oraccording to different methods (e.g., associations stored in a database,which may be accessible over a network, such as in China), as desired.In general, IMSIs may be used to determine various communicationparameters for performing communication by the mobile device, asdescribed below

In 204, similar to descriptions above in 202, characteristics of asecond card of the mobile device may be determined. For example, an IMSImay be determined for the second card of the mobile device, e.g., bydetermining the phone number associated with the second card of themobile device and deriving the IMSI from the phone number. The IMSIderived or otherwise determined from the second card may then be used todetermine communication parameters associated with the second card, asdescribed below, although other methods for determining communicationparameters are envisioned. Alternatively, or additionally, thecharacteristics of the second card may be determined based on thecharacteristics of the first card. For example, some of thecommunication parameters determined from the first card may apply to thecommunication parameters of the second card.

In 206, the method may determine whether the first card and the secondcard are simultaneously usable by common hardware of the mobile device.For example, it may be determined if the first and second card can beused simultaneously by a single transmitter/receiver and/or basebandlogic of the mobile device.

As used herein “simultaneously usable” (when used with respect to cardsof the mobile device) refers to the mobile device providing firstcommunication service to the user of the mobile device using the firstcard and also providing second communication service to the user of themobile device using one or more additional cards, wherein the firstcommunication service and the second communication service appear to theuser as occurring at the same time. It should be noted that the mobiledevice hardware may actually be performing time multiplexing of use ofthe hardware of the mobile device. For example, the same hardware (e.g.,transmitter/receiver) of the mobile device may be used for communicationusing the first card in a first time slot and again for communicationusing the second card in a second time slot, and this operation isconsidered “simultaneously usable” as used herein. Thus, while the firstand second cards may not be used at the exact same instant (due to timeslotting), the user may experience simultaneous use of the first andsecond cards, e.g., by using time multiplexing as described above,(although in other embodiments, the hardware may be used by both of thecards during the same time slot, as described herein). Thus, to theuser, where two cards are “simultaneously usable”, both cards can beused by the same hardware to perform two separate communications at thesame time. Additionally, note that the “same hardware” referred to aboveis more specific than simply using the same mobile device. Morespecifically, the same hardware refers to hardware used forcommunication by the mobile device, such as baseband circuitry, thetransmitter/receiver, etc. Thus, the mobile device may not require twoseparate communication circuits (e.g., two separate mobile basebandcircuits, transmitter/receivers, etc.) to use the two cardssimultaneously, but instead may use common communication hardware.

In 206, the method may include determining the one or more communicationparameters associated with the first card and determining the one ormore communication parameters associated with the second card. Forexample, an IMSI may be used to determine parameters such as the channelnumber (e.g., CDMA channel number), paging channel number, quick pagingchannel number, paging slot number, paging indicator positions, varioustime slots, etc. These parameters may determine how and when the mobiledevice communicates with a base station (e.g., a macro base station)when using the first card or account associated with the first card.Similarly, the parameters determined based on the second card (e.g., theIMSI associated with the second card) may be used to determine how andwhen the mobile device communications with the base station when usingthe second card or account associated with the second card. However,some of the parameters determined for the first card or first IMSI mayapply to parameters determined for the second card or second IMSI. Othercharacteristics or communication parameters may be determined in 206 orat a later point, e.g., from a base station, such as the system time,pilot PN offset, long code state, etc.

Note that the communication parameters may be the same communicationparameters that may be used in future communication sessions. Forexample, the determination of the communication parameters may beperformed in the same manner (e.g., which may be a deterministic manner)that will be used when communicating with a base station. In oneembodiment, the determination of the communication parameters mayactually involve establishing a connection with a base station andreceiving assigned communication parameters. Alternatively, the mobiledevice may be configured to determine the communication parameterswithout having to communicate with the base station, or any combinationof the mobile device and the base station determining the communicationparameters.

In one embodiment, the mobile device may utilize hardware or softwarestored on the mobile device to determine a portion or all of theparameters, e.g., based on an algorithm stored or implemented in themobile device. It should be noted that some of the communicationparameters may always be assigned in the same manner, and thus mayalways be assigned the same for each communication session. Thus, thedetermining of these communication parameters may be completelydeterministic. However, some of the parameters may be assigneddifferently or may be based on exterior factors (e.g., such as othermobile devices using a base station), and thus, the determining of theseparameters may not be absolute. For example, the channel number may bemodified during future communication sessions with a base station (e.g.,via overhead messages).

Once the communication parameters are determined for the first card andthe second card, the method may determine whether these parameters arecompatible or conflict with each other. For example, some parameters maynot be compatible with each other and may result in the communication ofthe two cards always (or having a high or otherwise unacceptableprobability of) conflicting with each other when used simultaneously.The determination of whether the sets of communication parameters arecompatible may be based on minimization of power consumption with anacceptable probability of packet collisions. For example, since, asindicated above, some of the parameters may vary during assignment orinitial set up of communication between the mobile device and the basestation (such as channel numbers), there may be a nonzero probability ofcollisions, but the configuration may minimize power consumption. Morespecifically, the communication parameters may be acceptable for powerminimization by selecting sets of parameters which have the same channeland paging slot, e.g., which use the same time slot.

Alternatively, power consumption may be sacrificed in order to guaranteeminimization of collision rates. For example, communication parametersmay be determined to be compatible when the paging slots are at least athreshold amount of time apart. More specifically, in one embodiment, afirst time slot may be determined based on the IMSI of the first cardand a second time slot may be determined based on the IMSI of the secondcard. The method may then determine if the first time slot and thesecond time slot are within a threshold amount of time to determine ifthe two sets of communication parameters (and thus, the two cards) arecompatible. Thus, the power consumption may be much higher than thealternative described above, but may guarantee a low probability ofcollisions or zero collision rate. Thus, the acceptability ofcommunication parameters may be based on collision rate minimization orpower consumption minimization (allowing for acceptable numbers ofcollisions, so as to ensure functionality, however), as desired.

As further examples, the method may determine if the paging slotdetermined from the first card and the paging slot determined from thesecond card are the same or adjacent. The method may also determine ifthe channel number of the first card and the channel number of thesecond card are different. If both these conditions are met, there maybe an unacceptable probability that these two cards (and morespecifically, the derived parameters based on the two cards) willconflict when used simultaneously. Similarly, if the communicationparameters have the same or adjacent paging slot with different pagingchannel numbers or different quick paging channel numbers, collisionsmay occur during simultaneous use. Note that these two scenarios areexemplary only, and the method may utilize any number of specific casesand/or determinations to determine if the two sets of parameters resultin conflicts during simultaneous use.

In 208, an indication may be provided which indicates whether the firstcard and the second card are simultaneously usable by the mobile device.For example, the indication may be provided on a display of the mobiledevice. Alternatively, the indication could be provided by a computersystem, e.g., which includes a card reader to determine compatibilitiesof cards in single mobile devices for simultaneous usage. Otherpossibilities of the indication are envisioned. Thus, the abovedescribed method may be used in various situations to determine if twodifferent cards or phone numbers are simultaneously usable. For example,the method may be performed when purchasing or selecting a secondaryphone number or second card, at a time of purchase of the mobile device,during a configuration of the mobile device, etc.

In 210, the mobile device may be operated. According to variousembodiments, the mobile device may operate in a single card mode, e.g.,where the first card or second card is only used, e.g., as would be thecase for typical single card mobile devices, or in a simultaneous ordual mode, where both cards are capable of being used simultaneously.Thus, in this mode, the mobile device may simultaneously use both thefirst card and the second card, e.g., by time multiplexing use of thefirst card and use of the second card using the common hardware of themobile device (e.g., the single transmitter/receiver).

Note that while the above method is described with respect to two cards,it may be extended to more than two cards. For example, the same methodmay be applied to determine if three or more cards can be usedsimultaneously. Thus, the method may further include determining if thefirst and second cards are compatible with one or more additional cardsand then providing an indication of that determination, as desired.

Additionally, the above method may apply to any of various communicationprotocols. For example, the method may be used for mobile devices whichsupport CDMA or EVDO. In some embodiments, the mobile device may supporta first protocol for a first card and a second protocol for a secondcard, as desired. Thus, the above method may apply to any of variousprotocols, whether used homogenously or heterogeneously, as desired.

FIGS. 3-11—Further Embodiments

The following descriptions (and FIGS. 3-11) provide various embodimentsof the method described in FIG. 2. Note that these embodiments areexemplary only and variations of configurations and processes areenvisioned.

As indicated above, when involving the two/more IMSI numbers in the samedevice (base band), one phone number (IMSI) of the first card may bedefined as the primary number and the second phone number (IMSI number)of the second card may be defined as the secondary number. Wheninvolving more than two IMSI numbers in the same device (base band), onephone number (IMSI) may be defined as the primary number, the secondphone number (IMSI number) may be defined as the secondary number, andthe third number and fourth number, and so on. The primary number mayalways be fixed (e.g., to default or normal values) with no need tochange. The method may estimate the resource distribution differencesbetween the primary IMSI and the secondary IMSI (or more IMSI). In oneembodiment, the differences may be compared to the predeterminedthresholds to determine whether or not the second number (or more phonenumbers) is compatible to the primary number. If the result is withinthe threshold range, the secondary or more IMSIs can be accepted;otherwise, the pairing or secondary phone numbers may be rejected.

Pre-Detection of the Compatibility of Multiple UIM Cards

Pre-detection of the compatibility of a second or more numbers to theprimary phone number may be implemented as part of UI, PC, Wed, etc.Accordingly, instead of going through the full steps of systemacquisition procedure on the selected number, the mobile station can useUI interface or other components to wake up a small portion of the chipor mobile station for calculation (e.g., converting the phone number toUIM number and a hash function may be used to calculate the restparameters). The results can lead to two results: 1) The selected phonenumber(s) may be accepted and may go to multiple UIM cards acquisitionstage, or 2) The selected phone number(s) may be rejected.

Multiple UIM Cards Initial Acquisition Procedure

To acquire a CDMA system, a mobile station may go through the followingstates: CMDA system selection state, Pilot channel Acquisition state,Sync channel Acquisition state, System timing changing state andfinally, into Mobile Station Idle state. The mobile station maysynchronize its long code timing and system timing to those of the CDMAsystem, using the pilot_PN, LC_STATE, and SYS_TIME values obtained fromthe received Sync Channel Message (e.g., from the base station).

For the dual UIM cards operation, the primary UIM user may acquire theCDMA network first and obtain CDMA system time, pilot PN offset, andLong Code state. The information obtained from acquiring the primary UIMcan directly apply to the secondary UIM initial acquisition withoutgoing through the actual initial acquisition procedurals. This is basedon the assumption is that the two UIM cards are located at the exactsame location, and they should camp to the same strongest base stationat the initial acquisition stage.

By entering the idle state, multiple UIM cards may perform registrationprocedure immediately to inform the base station of their locations,status, identifications, slot cycles and other characteristics so thatthe base station can efficiently page the mobile station. Theregistration may be performed first for the primary UIM card and thenfor the secondary UIM card.

Multiple UIM Mobile Station Operation

The mobile operation can have three system acquisitions: primary only,secondary only, and dual mode. As shown in FIG. 3, after power up:

-   If System Acquisition Preference is Primary only, the mobile may    transit to Primary IS-2000 1× operation only.-   If System Acquisition Preference is Secondary only, the mobile may    transit to Secondary IS-2000 1× operation only.-   If System Acquisition Preference is dual UIM, the Mobile may transit    to dual Primary/Secondary IS-2000 1× operation and may operate    according to the methods described herein.

In various embodiments, the user may be able to select among thedifferent modes; for example, using only the primary card, only thesecond card, or a plurality of the cards (in the case that the two cardscompatible, e.g., using the methods described above). Where the two ormore cards are incompatible, the user may be able to select which cardmay be used, e.g., exclusively.

The dual UIM state diagram is given in FIG. 4. As shown, after “powerup”, if the system acquisition preference is dual UIM, the states maytransition to “secondary init” or “primary init”. From “secondary init”,secondary acquisition may occur to transition to the state “primary &secondary idle”. Similarly, from “primary init” upon primaryacquisition, the state may be “primary idle & secondary init” which mayalso transition to “primary & secondary idle” after secondaryacquisition. From “primary & secondary idle” the states “secondaryaccess” and “primary access” are available. From these states,“secondary active” and “primary active” are available. Variousconditions account for operations that result in state transitionsduring dual UIM operation.

The Collision Decision Mechanism

Collision decisions for the simultaneous use UIM cards in the samedevice can be characterized into two groups^(.) minimizing powerconsumption while allow some percentage of collisions, and sacrificingpower consumption while guaranteeing collision rate.

Minimizing Power Consumption While Allow Some Percentage ofCollisions—Assumption is that the mobile user can have plenty of choicesfor choosing a right UIM card (e.g., a hash function is used tocalculate the parameters), which have the same PG slot as the primarynumber with the same CDMA Channel and Paging slot. In this case, at eachslot cycle, the mobile may need to wake up only once to receive two ormultiple UIM cards information without additional power consumption forupdating the second card information. However, during the monitoringstage, the base station can change the CDMA Channel number throughoverhead messages. Therefore, the same CDMA number cannot always beguaranteed. Collision might happen when the CDMA channel number changesto a different number other than the original number coming from hashcalculation.

Sacrifice Power Consumption While Guaranteeing Collision Rate—Since themobile station has no ability to change any assigned resource with agiven IMSI, a simple method is to reject cards whose IMSI is notcompatible (and/or who is possibly not compatible) with the primary IMSInumber and choose other UIM cards that are compatible to the primarynumber. This method can result in more power consumption compared to thefirst method, as the mobile station (e.g., the baseband of the mobilestation) may need to stay on for a longer time to update the two or moreUIM card's information. However, since the two or more cards are apartfor delta time from the primary paging slot, this gives each mobilerelatively enough decoding time to decode paging/overhead separately.Thus, the resource-sharing problem may no longer be an issue.Theoretically speaking, given the two cards with a paging slot 240 ms(three paging slots 3*80 ms) apart in a slot cycle index 2 (slot cycle2.56 s is the mostly used slot cycle in real CDMA systems), 94% time,there is no resource-overlapping problem. In other words, the rejectionprobability in the worst case is around 6%, which may be acceptable. Thesimulation result shows the collision probability is 0.6% withsimulation condition of sweeping 10000 phone numbers with random channelnumbers (between 1-10) and paging numbers (1-3) and collision happens 55times. The decision mechanism is shown in FIG. 5.

As shown, in 502, the secondary MSI number (10 digits) may be received.

In 504, the CDMA channel number, the paging channel number, the QPCH(quick paging channel) number, the paging slot number, and the pagingindicator position may be determined.

In 506, the paging slot number from the secondary IMSI may be comparedwith the primary paging slot number (from the primary IMSI).

If the difference is less than or equal to a threshold, in 508, then thesecondary CDMA channel number may be compared with the primary CDMAchannel number. If the difference is greater than the threshold, thesecondary IMSI/number may be accepted by the device in 520.

From 510, if there is no difference in 512, the number is not acceptedby the device and another number may need to be chosen in 518.

However, if there is a difference, the paging channel number and quickpaging channel number may be compared with the primary paging channelnumber and quick paging number. If there is no difference, then thenumber may not be accepted in 518.

If there is a difference in 512 or 516, the number may be accepted in520.

Collision Zone

As described above, in order to demodulate at least 1 data frame whichindicates that the mobile may go to sleep, the mobile station may needto go through three stages: the re-synchronization stage, monitoringstage, and teardown stage. During the three stages operation plus somecushion time, a mobile station cannot hybrid to any CDMA Channel/PagingChannel number other than its current CDMA Channel/Paging Channelnumber, otherwise there may be a collision. A collision zone may includethe delta slots before the primary paging slot and the delta slots afterthe primary paging slot, as shown in FIG. 6.

As also indicated above, a hash function may be used to calculate therequired parameters which correspond to an IMSI number. Within acollision zone, only two IMSIs with the same CDMA Channel/Paging Channelnumbers can be accepted. However, outside of the collision zone, thereis no limitation for CDMA Channel number/Paging Channel number. All theresources can be distributed as determined by the hash function sincethe mobile station may have relatively enough time (depending on thedistance between the two IMSI cards, the farther the better) to switchantennas for different frequencies or be able to handle different Washcodes. The distance between the primary paging slot and the secondarypaging slot is the main factor of collision confidence level. Thedistance to the collision zones are defined to fit differentrequirements. FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary collision zones andacceptable time slots over time. Compatibility may be determined ordefined into difference preference levels. One example of suchclassification is as follows:

-   1) The Most Preferred Phone Number: The selected phone number's    paging slot is located at the slot in which the distance to/from the    collision zone satisfies the condition: has the largest time space    between the two/more collision zones (e.g., delta =<(1.28*2̂i/2−1,    1.28*2̂i/2, 1.28*2̂i/2−1, i is slot cycle index, given by the base    station)>.-   2) Preferred Phone Number: The selected phone number's paging slot    is located at the slot in which the distance to/from the collision    zone satisfies the condition: has the second largest time space    between the two/more collision zones.-   3) Acceptable Phone Number: The selected phone number's paging slot    is located at the slot in which the distance to/from the collision    zone satisfies the condition: It is outside of the collision zone,    but has the smallest time space between two collision zones.-   4) Unacceptable Phone Number: The selected phone number is located    at the collision zone.

Threshold Determination

As discussed in the previous section, depending on the design focuspoint of collision rate versus power consumption, the threshold can becharacterized into two groups as well.

Minimizing Power Consumption—The idea of minimizing power consumption isfor the two UIM cards to have the same PGSLOT number. To achieve this,the mobile station can sweep all the possible secondary numbers and findnumbers that have the same CDMA Channel/Paging Channel as the primarynumber. The threshold may be set up to measure the candidate UIM cardsPGSLOT distance with the primary PGSLOT number and choose the one thathas the smallest delta (the same slot or adjacent slot).

Minimizing Collision Rate—As mentioned above, in the CMDA system, theresources may be pre-determined by the given UIM card. Thus, when acollision occurs, it will always occur in future communications andthere are no recovery strategies. Therefore, minimizing the collisionrate may be a main design goal for the mobile station. To achieve this,the mobile station can sweep all the possible secondary numbers and findnumbers that have the same or adjacent PGSLOT number as the primarynumber. The threshold is set up to measure the candidate UIM cardsPGSLOT distance with the primary PGSLOT number and eliminate the numberswithin the threshold collision zone, which have the different CDMSChannel or Paging Channels.

Dual UIM Cards Slotted Operation

Assume that mobile acquires both primary and secondary systems. Theprocedures for monitoring primary paging channel slot and secondarycontrol channel may be determined by the state of the dual mode (asshown in FIGS. 3 and 4): primary only, secondary only, and dual UIMmode. In the dual UIM mode, the mobile may camp on the primary channeland tune to monitor secondary control channels at predetermined timeslots. Thus, in the dual UIM mode, the mobile may need to receive bothUIM pagings.

FIG. 7 shows the example of dual UIMs data flow and interactions. Asshown, FIG. 7 illustrates a dual UIM mode with general data and controlflow between the primary unit and the secondary unit. The resourceallocation is distributed among CP MON, MPA, DSPM and 1× Protocol.

CP MON—responsible for determining whether or not the request unitshould go to deep sleep. Both primary UIM and secondary UIM systemsshould send the next resync time along with a deep sleep request to theCP MON. Since CP MON has knowledge of the required wake times for bothsystems, the time difference between the current time and the desiredwake time can be calculated. If the difference is greater then the prefixed delta (CBP4/6 is 5 ms), CP MON idle test may grant the deep sleeprequest and shut down all HW and clocks. Otherwise, the chip may stayawake.

MAP—at each wake up occurrence, MAP may be a center unit for handlingthe resource request from either the primary UIM or Secondary UIM andmay determine whether to grant or reject a request according to itspriorities. In the dual UIM mode operation, if one of the systems is inan active or traffic state, it may always reject resource requests fromanother as the system can only support one UIM at time and works on afirst come, the first serve basis. When a system releases the resource,it should always inform the MAP so that MAP can maintain the most up todate usage information.

DSPM—responsible for delivering the resources requested by MAP from bothUIM systems.

1×_PS—responsible for handling all lx related messages and resourcerequests.

Dual UIM Resynchronization Determination

Since dual UIM allows sharing of common (same) hardware, the short codeand long code generators may be shared between the two UIM systems.Therefore, it may be necessary to keep track of the two UIMs' systemtime independently. Moreover, each UIM system's resync parameterscalculation may be in reference to its own system time

Long Code Hopping

In 1× systems, the slot cycles are in durations of 1.28 s·2^(i) (i=0, 1,2, . . . , 7) with a maximum duration of 163 s. The duration of the longcode generator is much longer than the duration of the sleep period(2⁴²/1.2288 MHz=41.425 days). Since the code generator may be powereddown while the mobile station is powered down, it may be necessary tocalculate the new state prior to sleep. An efficient way to calculatethe long code state is to use a long code generator state prior to sleepto calculate the new state after sleep.

Resync Event

The “Resync” event in the HW may include setting most system time statesto a programmed value. The main system time counter (80 ms@9.8304 MHz)and the short code generator as well as long code state may need to beset to some programmed values that correspond to the time at which theResync occurs.

Prior to going to sleep, CP may calculate the initial state of the PNI,PNQ and system counter at the pre-determined resync time. At resynctime, the hybrid sleep control logic may generate a hardware resyncinterrupt to the system time unit. The resync interrupt may cause a loadpulse to the system time unit that may set the counter and PNgenerators. It may also trigger the RESYNC_INT interrupt to CP.

Dual UIM Slotted Mode Without Contention

In some embodiments, there may be no overlapping wake time between thetwo systems. The resources may be guaranteed for the both systems whenawakened from sleep or upon a request. However, when the delta timebetween the two wake ups are very close, it may be desirable to let thechip stay awake until the next wake up. By doing this, the amount oftime to wake up the ASIC can be saved. In this design, the CPMON may beresponsible to grant a deep sleep request. The CPMON may compute thedelta time to the next programmed wake up time (can be either PrimaryUIM or Secondary UIM) when receiving a deep sleep request. If it isgreater than the threshold (CPB4.0/6.0 uses 5 ms), the deep sleeprequest may be granted; otherwise, the chip may stay awake until thenext wake up time.

FIG. 8 shows the example of the dual UIM fully slotted time line.

Dual UIM Slotted Mode With Contention

The partial slotted mode may occur when the mobile station is in thedual UIM mode and is active in the network while checking slotted pagingfor the dual mode UIM card. This may result in a contention between thetwo systems. In the dual UIM card design, a UIM card which is in theactive stage (monitoring) may have higher priority over a UIM systemwhich is in the idle state and waiting for its turn. Therefore, whilemonitoring a UIM system, another UIM system's wake up request may not begranted. Instead, the SSM module may calculate the UIM's next wake upresync time and may program the resync time into the system time unitand/or the dual mode control unit and then put the UIM system in a sleepstate until the resources are released. FIG. 9 illustrates an example ofdual UIM resource contention slotted time line.

When SSM (Sleep control logic) requests a deep sleep, it may send thepredetermined resync time along with the deep sleep request to CP MON sothat CP MON can use the timing reference to decide whether or not togrant the request, which may be useful for a hybrid deep sleep request.DSP may be used as the center unit to convey the information between CPand HW. FIG. 10 shows the slotted paging ladder diagram with event ofcontention between the two systems.

CDMA Slotted Paging Power Up Time Line

Slotted paging operation may require the mobile station to be awakenedat the predetermined paging slot to reacquire the network and monitorthe Control Channel at the beginning of the selected control channelcycle. The mobile can return to sleep when the Overhead messages havebeen updated and a General Page Message is received with an appropriatedone bit (e.g., demodulate at least 1 frame (20 ms) of data). In orderto monitor the Paging channel or the forward Common control Channel ateach start of the slot cycle, the mobile station may need to be poweredup earlier than the required slot to perform some necessary housekeepingprocesses so that at the required time slot, all the information can belined up for correct decoding. FIG. 11 illustrates the CDMA operation atslotted mode power up requirement and time line. The general wake uptime for CDMA slotted system is around 80 ms.

FIG. 12—Determining Compatibility of Multiple Cards in a Mobile Device

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary method for determining compatibility ofsimultaneous use of multiple cards in a mobile device. The method shownin FIG. 12 may be used in conjunction with any of the computer systemsor devices shown in the above Figures, among other devices. In variousembodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performedconcurrently, performed in a different order than shown, or omitted.Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown,this method may operate as follows.

In 1202, signals may be received from a mobile device, e.g., by a basestation. For example, the mobile device may attempt to communicate orestablish communication with the base station. In various embodiments,the mobile device may send information regarding the variouscommunication capabilities of the mobile device. For example, thesignals may indicate that the mobile device is capable of or otherwiserequests using a first card (or account associated with the first card)and a second card (or account associated with the second card)simultaneously. Thus, in 1204, the method may determine that the mobiledevice is capable of (or otherwise requests) using a first card and asecond card simultaneously. However, the signals in 1202 may providefurther information, such as information regarding the first card and/orthe second card. For example, the signals may indicate phone numbersand/or IMSIs associated with the first and second card, although, asdescribed in FIG. 2 above, the IMSIs, in some embodiments, may bedetermined based on the phone numbers.

In 1206, a plurality of first communication parameters may be determinedfor the first card. Similar to descriptions above, the communicationparameters may be determined via a variety of methods, e.g., based onthe IMSI associated with the first card (or account of the first card).

In 1208, a plurality of second communication parameters may bedetermined for the second card. The plurality of second communicationparameters may be determined based on the first communicationparameters. More specifically, the plurality of second communicationparameters may be determined in order to allow the first card and thesecond card to be used simultaneously by common hardware (e.g., thebaseband, transmitter/receiver, etc.) of the mobile device.

In various embodiments, this may be achieved by deriving communicationparameters based on the IMSI of the second card, and if necessary,modifying those parameters to make the communication parameters of thefirst and second card compatible. Alternatively, the communicationparameters may not be based on the IMSI of (or other informationreceived concerning) the second card, but may instead be based on thecommunication parameters determined for the first card. Thus, the secondcommunication parameters may be determined expressly for ensuring thatthe first and second cards may be used simultaneously by the mobiledevice, e.g., based on the indication that the mobile device desires touse or is capable of using the first and second cards simultaneously.For example, the plurality of second parameters may be assigned suchthat the paging slot and paging channel for the second card are the sameas the paging slot and paging channel of the first card. As anotherexample, the IMSI of the first card may be assigned as the IMSI of thesecond card. More specifically, the system may map the MDN (mobiledirectory number) of the second card to the IMSI of the first card.

In 1210, the plurality of the first and second communication parametersmay be provided to the mobile device. The plurality of the firstcommunication parameters may be usable by the mobile device tocommunicate using the first card and the plurality of the secondcommunication parameters may be usable by the mobile device tocommunicate using the second card. Because of the determinations in 1204and 1206 above, the mobile device may be configured to use the first andsecond communication parameters to simultaneously use the first andsecond card (or accounts associated therewith).

Similar to embodiments above, the method may apply to more than twocards in a mobile device. For example, the method may includedetermining that the mobile device is capable of using the first card,the second card, and one or more additional cards simultaneously,determining associated communication parameters for the one or moreadditional cards (such that the plurality of cards can be usedsimultaneously), and providing those parameters to the mobile device.Thus, the method apply to determining any number of sets ofcommunication parameters such that any number of cards may be suedsimultaneously by a mobile device. However, such methods could bealtered to allow for any subsets of cards to be usedsimultaneously—e.g., where first and second cards can be usedsimultaneously and third and fourth cards can be used simultaneously, asdesired.

Further Embodiments

The following descriptions provide further embodiments of the methoddescribed in FIG. 12. Note that these embodiments are exemplary only andvariations of configurations and processes are envisioned.

Implementing processes related to dual/multiple UIM card for a mobilestation in the base station may have more advantages than implementingin the mobile station. However, such changes may require changes in thestandards used for communication, which may be undesirable.

The Collision Decision Mechanism—the base station can assign thesecondary number to the same user according to the user's primarynumber. Since the base station has the knowledge of frequency/washallocation, it can prevent the possible collision by avoiding the IMSI'swhich have potential conflicts with the primary number. Moreover, thebase station can choose a particular number that has the same pagingslot as the primary number.

Advantage Over Mobile Station Embodiments—Power Saving—The base stationcan select a secondary number in such a way that the primary andsecondary numbers happen to have the same paging slot number with acommon CDMA Channel Number and Paging Channel Number. In this way, themobile can have the power consumption of a single user while supportingtwo UIMs simultaneously.

Scheduling—The mobile station may only need to wake up once to decodepaging or control channel messages that address both of the IMSIs. Nohandling of the switch between the two IMSI is needed.

Additional Embodiments—Multiple UIM Cards in Hybrid 1×RTT and 1×EV-DOSystem

Unlike 1× mode operation where the paging slot number and slot cycle arepre-fixed and mobile stations have no option to change it, in the DOsystem, the preferred control channel cycle is negotiable as the AN isnot aware of the 1× slot cycle in use. Thus, the AN may have to acceptthe PCCC (preferred control channel cycle) proposed by the mobilestation. FIG. 13 shows Rev 0, hybrid control channel preferred cycledetermination.

Multiple UIM card with Primary EVDO card

Fix the EVDO PCCC with primary UIM card—The average time needed todecode a good frame is around 80 ms˜100 ms. In QPCH mode, the pagingindicators may be within 100 ms before the paging channel frame.Therefore, to avoid collision, the normal paging and QPCH may becombined together to give some delta time between 1× and EVDO wake uptime, e.g., which may be set to 300 ms. During the 300 ms time zone, anyDO scheduled wake up may be considered overlapping with 1× and may berescheduled to a new time that will not conflict with 1×.

In order to compare both system wake up times at the same scale, weexpress both systems in terms of 1.667 ms slot durations. The wake uptime for 1× can be expressed as follows:

MS _(slot)=48×mod(PGSlOT,16×2^(i))+48×k×16×2^(i)

Where k is the number of the 16×2 i slot cycles since the beginning ofthe system time.

In QPCH mode, the collision may be considered with the first indicatorposition as this is quite complicated when considering the possibilitiesof wake up on second paging indicator. Additionally there is not enoughtime between the two indicators to decode control channel capsule.

MS _(slot)=48×mod(PGSLOT,16×2^(i))+48×k×16×2^(i) ////////

The wake up time for DO can be expressed as follows:

AT _(slot)=256×mod(R,12)+256×j×12+off s

Selecting the Secondary UIM card which is not overlapping with PrimaryUIM

The same method that is used to select secondary UIM can be applied toEVDO/Primary/Secondary UIM selection. The difference is that theselected UIM has to satisfy the sufficient space from both 1× primaryUIM and EVDO system.

Multiple EVDO Cards with Primary UIM Card

After determining the primary EVDO PCCC which is compatible with theselected 1× Primary UIM card, using methods such as those describedabove, the mobile station can calculate the most preferred secondaryEVDO PCCC number which should not overlap with either Primary EVDO orPrimary 1× UIM. The selected Secondary PCCC can be assigned to the userby negotiating the preference with the AN at session set up stage.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

1. A method for a base station which coupled to a mobile device, themethod comprising: receiving a first parameter set of a first subscriberand a second parameter set of a second subscriber; sending a pluralityof signals from the base station, wherein said plurality of signal isconfigured to indicate communication parameters between the mobiledevice and the base station; receiving a plurality of parameters fordetermining whether the second module is able to attach to the basestation; and connecting the first and second module in the mobile deviceto the base station simultaneously in response to a plurality of slotsby time multiplexing and the plurality of parameters when the secondmodule is acceptable by the base station, wherein said plurality ofslots are determined by the base station.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said receiving the first identification signal and secondidentification signal comprising using air interface to receive saidfirst and second identification signal without going throughsynchronizing long code timing and system timing.
 3. The method of claim1, further comprising sending an information to the first module, theinformation is selected from one of the following group: a system time;a pilot PN offset; and a long code state.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving a notification signal when the secondmodule is acceptable by the base station after comparing the pluralityof signals of the first module and the second module received by themobile device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality ofsignals comprising a first channel number, a second channel number and aslot number.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said first channel numberis a CDMA channel number, and said second channel number is a pagingchannel number or a QPCH channel number.
 7. The method of claim 5,wherein when the first module or the second module working in 1×EV-DOCDMA system, the first channel number is negotiable with the mobiledevice.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein when the first module or thesecond module working in 1×RTT CDMA system, the slot number is pre-fixedby the base station.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstidentification signal and second identification signal are configured toindicate the subscriber identity.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising assigning different mobile directory number to the firstsubscriber and the second subscriber according to the firstidentification signal.
 11. A base station coupled to a mobile device,the base station comprising: a detector for receiving a firstidentification signal corresponding to a first module and a secondidentification signal corresponding to a second module from the mobiledevice; a transmitter for sending a plurality of signals to the mobiledevice, said plurality of signals is configured to set up communicationbetween the mobile device and the base station; a receiver for receivinga plurality of parameters for determining whether the second module isable to attach to the base station; and a processor for connecting thefirst and second module in the mobile device to the base stationsimultaneously in response to a plurality of slots by time multiplexingand the plurality of parameters when the second module is acceptable bythe base station, wherein said plurality of slots are determined by thebase station.
 12. The base station of claim 10, wherein said detectorcomprising receiving the first identification signal and secondidentification signal comprising using air interface to receive saidfirst and second identification signal without going throughsynchronizing long code timing and system timing.
 13. The base stationof claim 10, wherein said transmitter further comprising sending aninformation to the first module, the information is selected from one ofthe following group: a system time; a pilot PN offset; and a long codestate.
 14. The base station of claim 10, wherein said receiver furthercomprising receiving a notification signal when the second module isacceptable by the base station after comparing the plurality of signalsof the first module and the second module received by the mobile device.15. The base station of claim 10, wherein said plurality of signalscomprising a first channel number, a second channel number and a slotnumber.
 16. The base station of claim 10, wherein said first channelnumber is a CDMA channel number, and said second channel number is apaging channel number or a QPCH channel number.
 17. The base station ofclaim 10, wherein when the first module or the second module working in1×EV-DO CDMA system, the first channel number is negotiable with themobile device.
 18. The base station of claim 10, wherein when the firstmodule or the second module working in 1×RTT CDMA system, the slotnumber is pre-fixed by the base station.
 19. The base station of claim10, wherein the first identification signal and second identificationsignal are configured to indicate the subscriber identity.
 20. Themethod of claim 10, wherein said base station assign different mobiledirectory number to the first subscriber and the second subscriberaccording to the first identification signal.
 21. A system for operatingin CDMA mode, the system comprising: a mobile device with a first moduleand a second module, the mobile device receiving a first identificationsignal corresponding to the first module and a second identificationsignal corresponding to a second module; a base station coupled to themobile device, the mobile device further comprising: a detector forreceiving the first identification signal and the second identificationsignal from the mobile device; a transmitter for sending a plurality ofsignals to the mobile device, said plurality of signals is configured toset up communication between the mobile device and the base station; areceiver for receiving a plurality of parameters for determining whetherthe second module is able to attach to the base station; and a processorfor connecting the first and second module in the mobile device to thebase station simultaneously in response to a plurality of slots by timemultiplexing and the plurality of parameters when the second module isacceptable by the base station, wherein said plurality of slots aredetermined by the base station.
 22. The system of claim 19, wherein saidmobile device further comprising calculating the difference of a slotnumber of the first module and second module, when the difference of theslot number is larger than a threshold, the second module is acceptablefor minimizing collision rate.
 23. The system of claim 20, wherein whenthe difference of the slot number is no more than the threshold, and theCDMA channel numbers and the paging channel numbers of the first andsecond module are different separately, the second module is notacceptable.